It is time for a change. A change of pace, a change of attitude, a change of perspective.Today I am expecting two guests for a project meeting and lunch. The day has started cold as usual, I time my morning by throwing on layers of all available clothes before I exit from under the warm bed covers, including a hat, then promptly run out of the room and into to the bathroom where I envy men and their ability to pee fully clothed, and from there straight to the fireplace to build a fire, it will put a dent on the wet coldness that has settled overnight upon the house. Lately I have gotten into sicking pine cones in the oven until glossy brown, this step really dries them up and makes fire starting a breeze.
It is specially cold this morning, I open the window curtains in the living area and take a look outside, there I see the ocean at large in the immediate distance, as usual it is a surprise. Here on the Uruguayan Coast the Atlantic is always in flux, never the same colour, one day brings huge rolling waves, next "chicha" calm, strong winds can raise full cover white caps and bring cotton candy foam on shore, when severe Southern Antarctic storms break being on land does not feel safe enough to avoid the ocean's rage, a real treat; looking at the Atlantic every morning has become a key event by which my day starts.
Having assesed the weather and seeing the fire is burning away I get the coffee started. There are two objects that follow me around the world, one is a proper Italian coffee brewer and the other is a small wooden device to squeeze lemons or limes; however, this morning coffee making shall be improvised as I have run out of gas for the cooking stove. So far I have gotten more gas by driving myself to La Paloma, 17km away to fetch a new carafe but someone told me I could call for home delivery so I try.
In La Pedrera houses have names but the streets don't. I recently moved from the "Green House" to the "Yellow House", interestingly enough, if you are into the lives of the rich and famous note that "Green" was famous latinamerican cartoonist Maitena's first house in La Pedrera (she now lives in a much grander fair on the beach), "Yellow", the house I moved into a couple of weeks back belongs to Oscar-winner Norma Aleandro, these two women are fine examples of the low-profile-seeking celebrities who have chosen this town as their home or preferred summer destination in the area.
I call the 'bring me gas' service, I provide directions by reference to the house's owners, I tell the gas carafe man, "Doble en la OSE, de ahi sigue derecho a la Casa Amarilla sobre la calle de atras del Hotel La Pedrera, la de Norma Aleandro sabe?"
We work it out, the carafe arrives and I have just enough time to cook up the garbanzo beans, cut up all the additional veggies and make a nice Mediterranean Garbanzo salad while I steam the cauliflower, then blend it with homemade stock and coconut cream into a steamy soup. It is now time to transform myself from the I just got out of bed look into a tad less wild appearance, I even get to send a couple of emails and have a cup of tea before my first visitor arrives, Martin the architect."I don't think the walls can handle the weight of a second floor" Martin the architect says before his butt hits the the chair by the now roaring fire. The structure is over 100 years old, he has come straight to the meeting from the hotel where he has been surveying the walls in question with one of his crew, Martin concludes we might need to do more full wall replacement than anticipated if we are planning to build a structure that will stand without crumbling down. I nod, this makes sense, then ask "the hotel's foundation, how is it?"
This is when Martin tells me that the hotel is sitting on numerous anthills.
I breathe in and begin to imagine the anthills underneath the hotel walls. In my mind's eye I see pictures from childhood with anthill cross-sections, I see ants going up and down paths carrying leaves on their backs, a couple of ants fight with each other, their little head antlers locking in. I am lost in my ant universe as I watch Martin the architect gesture on, I remember this anthill art piece I once saw in a London TATE exhibition, the installation had placed piles of dirt with large live ants in square acrylic boxes positioned horizontally against the wall, the boxes were connected with one another through clear tubes, the ants moved around and carried dirt, from this box to the other, there was a map of the US or maybe a map of the world behind it, it had some significant socio-political-environmental meaning I cannot remember.
I snap out of my ant visualization and ask, "Is this going to impact our construction budget? We are not trying to do perfect but safe enough to turn around a profit" I add professionally. I love being this practical, so black and white at times. "There is a little German in you" someone told me once in Goa, it is true and it is a role I don't mind playing. We discuss the walls some more, it turns out that the solutions are feasible, perhaps less complex than reinforcing the old structure, the impact on the budget is not significant but the anthills will have to go.
My second guest arrives, Curro is my Italian-Uruguayan friend I consider a hero, he has been doing 'things' in Uruguay for about 4 years and understands all about profit-making land-based projects in far away lands, soon enough Curro is telling Martin about his father, "he was the 'true' genious when it came to visualizing architectural concepts and ideas, his watercolours were so good that his clients wanted the house to look exactly as he had painted it". It runs in the family, I have visited Curro's chacra "project" near Jose Ignacio, I love it, there he has a room he calls his "laboratory" dedicated to design, he has impeccable taste and most important, he can communicate sensibly and timely, I have come to realize (again) that listening to appropriate counsel and advise is what is going to make a difference towards our success, stay in touch with those who have the experience and can communicate it.
Which brings me to the core of this post. Change of mind, change of attitude, update the perspective.
I hate to admit it but I have been resisting getting into the project, I have been keeping one foot outside, back in Goa no doubt, keeping a safe distance. Suddenly, the first of many realizations to come, I acknowledge to myself that I am in the coninuing process of fabricating a life, not just a summer season, moving on from a life style I had been enjoying (namely Goa) and that I can build further upon.My attitude has gone from desolate to alive, my health has gotten better, the winter spirit of the town no longer projecting shadows on my mind. I hit a low while in Montevideo this last weekend, due to unexpected events Sunday I had to return to La Pedrera without making a quick trip to Buenos Aires, where I was hoping to cheer up. When I got back I spent that first day sulking around, then decided to go to Karina's (another great addition to the project team). At her house over tea we had a brain storming session working out how to prioritize and organize the apparently endless amount of things to be calculated, measured and budgeted. As we talked I felt my energy begin to make itself present and project itself onto the room, it suddenly boomerang and hit me straight on and I realized I had just gotten my juice back.
Back to today, things are being discussed between Martin the architect and Curro the project hero, as I handled calls and emails with the Solicitor and the Accountant I am coming to terms with the project at hand, with the place where I am living, with the things that are within my reach and those which perhaps are not necessary after all. I smile again and watch sun which has made a grand appearance over the blue ocean and shines on me with its winter warmth. I have returned to the present as I bring all of my experiences to life, side by side, providing me with the perfect balance of knowledge and opportunity to make the best of this particular time in life.
I have everything to be thankful for! In particular to all those people who here and there have provided me with the mirror, with the bouncing factor I've required to understand my inner workings, how to get over silly banal complaints, who have more than once have provided me with knowledge and inspiration to make every day the best and enjoy it to the max. Thanks are in order.
All I had to do was to visualize myself on top of the hotel's roof watching the full moon rise above the Atlantic and accept: It could not be any different or any better than now.
